


Tend to the Flame

by The_Shy_One



Series: Safe Haven [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Disagreements, F/M, Flirting, Hints to Armorer/Fennec, Light Angst, One Shot, Planet Tatooine (Star Wars), day trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Shy_One/pseuds/The_Shy_One
Summary: The Armorer goes back to her ship to retrieve the beskar and durasteel for the new forge at Boba's palace.
Relationships: Fennec Shand & The Armorer, The Armorer (The Mandalorian TV)/Boba Fett
Series: Safe Haven [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138844
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Tend to the Flame

She notices that Boba finds excuses to be around her only a day in staying at the palace. Always searching her out once his day of being the ruler of Tatooine was over, either asking her to spar with him or asking her opinion of what he should do to set up a forge for her. It was flattering in a way to see the infamous bounty hunter followed her around like a tooka kit who spied a fish that they wanted desperately.

And she liked that he called her the Blacksmith. It was a title she once held before she had to become the leader of the Covert. It drew up memories of the work she had done, of the designs she had created from the people who commissioned her for her skills being called. The Armorer might go back to it, once it was known to the returning members of the Covert that she would follow Boba as a leader.

She doubts Paz will like that much as Boba was stubborn in his own ways. But the man will concede if she tells him to, trusting her instincts and her wisdom more than his own.

It reminds her that she has to send a message to Kroto Vos at some point so that the remaining members of the Covert would come here. Vos was a Jedi spy who had kept up the alias of being a mechanic to gather and sell information to not raise suspicions of the Empire. He was good, honest and she trusted him to help her once more since they had known each other since the Purge occurred.

He might have been a Jedi, but he was also a good conversationalist about Mandalorian history and culture as well. Maybe she could convince him to be a spy for Boba as well, help Din figure out what to do with the Darksaber that he had in his hands.

A knock at the door and the Armorer opens the door of the forge to one of the people working for Boba holding something in their hands. Each day a new thing comes to her from the King of Tatooine, only with the instruction that she ask for help from either him or Fennec to install it for the forge if she needed it. She smiles at the writing, placing it with the other notes, knowing it was his way of spending more time with her. 

Oddly chivalrous for a man known for being a ruthless bounty hunter. But there were contradictions in everyone, including herself.

She leaves the newest piece of equipment in the large room that was starting to become a forge. Different in layout from the one on Nevarro, it still shrouded itself in shadows, a preference that she and other blacksmiths of the trade like. It made it easier to work, spotting mistakes in the bright and heated metal and made it easier to correct.

Going down the familiar hallways, she finds Boba exiting the throne room, a bit earlier than normal. His shoulders were relaxed and his helmet was off, showing the scars he’d gotten from the Sarlacc pit. A good day in leading today going by the smile he sends her way when he spies her.

“Blacksmith,” Boba says, smile growing wider. “Shall we have a spar?”

She smiles, sharp teeth showing beneath her lips as she said,” Not today. I must retrieve something from my ship before the Jawas find it and try to sell it off.”

“Something important?” He starts to follow her, staying at her side as he continues to talk. “Why didn’t you bring your ship here sooner?”

“I’ve been busy,” The Armorer said, teasing,” Someone keeps giving me gifts to make the best possible forge I can have here. I think he might be sweet on me.”

She smiles brightly at the surprised blink he gives her. Oh, he was adorable, more than other partners she’s had in the past. “You may come with me to retrieve it.”

“Yes,” Boba said, “I’ll come.”

“Good.” She smiles and continues down the hallways. She hears the spurs on his boots at her side, accompanying the soft clicking sound of her tools hitting the plates on her thighs. 

They heading out into the dunes, both of Tatooine’s suns bearing down on them. It was warm, a dry heat that was different from the heat that was Nevarro. Sweat clung to her skin, making the flight suit shift and stick to her. But she ignored it in favour of finding her way to her ship. The beskar and durasteel needed to be brought back to the forge, ready to be used when members of the Covert started to arrive at the palace.

They spoke in single sentences to each other the whole way there, mostly directions on where they would be going. The suns were starting to reach their peak in the sky when the Armorer finally found where she parked her ship. It was hidden in a canyon, wedged into a cavern where it would be hard to spot and keep unwanted wanders from entering it.

There was no noticeable damage to it which meant that it wasn’t picked off by the Jawas. She stands where the ramp opens up, looking to see the small space still had everything in its place. She gets on, heading to the compartment where she stored the blocks of durasteel and beskar. Boba follows after her, curiously looking around her ship as she opens the compartment.

“Beskar?” He asks as she closes it up again. “You got your hands on beskar?”

“Returned to us by the Imperials when Din took a job from them,” She explained. As she went to the cockpit, prepared to fly the ship to the palace, she said, “That is when Din found the child and decided to look after them while taking the mission to return them to their own kind.”

“The Jedi,” Boba said the word with a bit of bitterness. It was familiar to her, having dealt with Paz over the many hangups he had due to pride during the course of his life. But it was different, something she would have to carefully navigate.

“The child had powers that Din wasn’t prepared for, nor for how he would have to be on the run to protect them. It was best for a Jedi to take them for the child’s safety and for his mind.” She said as she sat down. 

As she turns the ship on, checking to make sure everything was good the few days she was away, Boba spoke up. “You didn’t see how distraught he was after giving the kid away.” There was something there, something she wasn’t going to understand in the tightness of his voice unless he willing told her what it was.

“No. But I also know Din wouldn’t have given them to just anyone. He is emotional but often dependable.” She eases the ship out of the cavern, watching to make sure she didn’t accidentally bump it into the walls or the edge of the opening. “He will see them again.”

“Do you know that? Or do you assume?” The tightness in Boba’s voice was more pronounced this time and it made her pause for a moment.

“I know that he will visit the child.”

“How?”

“I have a friend who was a former Jedi. He’s given me information about the Jedi that Din gave the child to when I asked him.”

She didn’t look back to see Boba’s reaction, only focused on returning to the palace. She dare not think that her contradictions drove the man away, she had after all wanted to offer her services in exchange for her Covert to have a place to stay.

Maybe it was too much to hope that Boba would understand her or the choices she made after the Purge. He had been discarded long before by Mandalorians, the name Fett used by both New Mandalorians and the Death Watch as a way to smear either side for leading their lives the wrong way.

Jaster might have been Jango’s father, but history and distance had a way of disgracing those who struggled to keep to the path of life that they were once supposed to have.

It was quiet, the only sound of the engines heard as they went over the dunes. She only looked back once to see him sitting in the cargo hold, eyes facing away from the cockpit. They arrived at the palace, Fennec standing in the loading dock with interest.

“Welcome back,” She said, tone open with a wide smirk on her face. “Have fun in the desert?”

“It was eye-opening,” Was all Boba said in reply before he entered the palace.

The two women blinked and then turned their attention towards each other. “Do you need help bringing anything in?” Fennec asked, deciding to not focus on her partner’s behaviour from the look of things.

“I only need a hover cart to transport them back to the forge.” The Armorer said. She didn’t need distractions now, not when she had to think of a way to approach Boba without cornering him. Literally or figuratively.

“I’ll bring two then,” Fennec said, moving before she could protest against that.

Fennec brings the carts and helps her load the beskar and the durasteel onto both. It was quiet between them, a comfortable one as opposed to the one she experienced with Boba on the ship. It wasn’t until they were putting the metal in a container in the forge that Fennec spoke up.

“He’ll come around.”

“Is this before or after he tries to get me to leave?”

Fennec chuckles, putting more durasteel into the container. “Neither. He respects you, wants you to stay here. Whatever you disagreed on, he’ll get over it.”

“Was he the same to you at the start?” The Armorer asked.

“He was a bit more courteous since he was taking care of me,” Fennec said, opening a flap on her flight suit to show mechanical parts moving in time with each other. “But he will get over it.”

“Hopefully. I might have an offer for him if he does.” 

Fennec’s smirk returns at this, sly and filled with glee. “Oh? Will you two finally stop this fun little dance of  _ ‘will they or won’t they?” _

And the Armorer realizes that she’s chuckling a half-second after she starts doing it. “What makes you think  _ that _ wasn’t going to happen?”

“Nothing, but I need to win the betting pool that the workers have started. Got a lot riding on you two.”

“And what of your chances of winning with me dropping him in favour of going with you?”

The smirk got wider and the Armorer did the same in return. She was open to having both of them if they were interested in that. “Very high. But talk to him before we try to swindle people out of their money.”

The Armorer nodded in agreement. Now how was she going to do that?

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone guess who the mysterious Kroto Vos actually is? Because he will be showing up in the future and I will have so much fun writing him.
> 
> Hopefully, it was a fun one-shot to read! :D


End file.
